Cleaning Up Messy Municipal Finances in Chicago and Beyond

A Civic Federation-sponsored event Wednesday addressed questions that have been on the mind of many amid recent crises: Is Chicago the next Detroit, headed for municipal bankruptcy? Can – or should – the Chicago Public Schools go bankrupt?

While restructuring may have its appeals, it's an expensive, complicated process that doesn't solve the whole of a municipality's problems – and in Illinois, it's nearly impossible.

Joining Chicago Tonight for national lessons in municipal finance and bankruptcy is Mary Murphy, the Pew Charitable Trusts manager on issues of state and local fiscal health.